Photo:  Edyta Szyszlo Photography

My first Renegade Craft favorite to share!  Holly Harper of Thread and Needle was kind enough to let me take some photos of these adorable and stylish coffee cup holders!  Wait – coffee cuffs!  So many colors and designs to chose from! (more…)

Photos:  Edyta Szyszlo Photography

It’s Sunday night, which means the Renegade Craft Fair here in Chicago is officially over.  Bummed!  I want to say thanks to all the vendors (and my lovely group of ladies) that came out  to show everyone their incredible work despite the 8 inches of rain we received this weekend!  The next week or two will be dedicated to my favorites from the fair!  Be sure to check back!

Photos: Edyta Szyszlo Photography

Nope, not Pier 39 in San Francisco!! Try Navy Pier in Chicago! (by the way, I like to call them ‘lake gulls’) Just saying hello after a few of my fun-filled days with family visiting. We had an amazing time wandering the city and visiting the sites! The weather was perfect all week, reminded me of good ole SF. I hadn’t been to Navy Pier since I was super little, and I had a blast showing my younger sister and her friend around. I have to admit it’s nice to have a small break – it was much needed! But my tiny point and shoot camera did document our days :)

Photo: Edyta Szyszlo Photography

I know, I know…the posts haven’t been as frequent! Very sorry! The month of June is crazy for me with weddings and we are moving! Thanks for your patience.

I was asked a couple months ago to donate some work for Fusebox Art’s 20 and Under Show, (benefiting Chicago charities) during the Andersonville Street Festival in Chicago this past weekend. I took it as an opportunity to get a little more creative so as you can see I decided to reuse my thrifty plates as my canvas! I purchased clear mylar adhesive inkjet paper at my local art supply store and printed some of my favorite black and white wedding photographs. After adhering, I sprayed a thick clear gloss to seal and level the photographs. I attached some picture hanging hooks to the back and there it was! I thought they turned out super cute! I had some friends attend the show Saturday night and mentioned my piece (above) had been purchased already! Very easy and inexpensive way to create unique settings for your photographs!

Photos: Edyta Szyszlo Photography

I’m back in Chicago! After a mini vacation to Missouri for a friend’s wedding and some extra time off visiting old friends, I am back to the blog! Thanks for being patient! Wonder what I did during some of that time off? Baby portraits! My friends Ashley and Amos have two very cute little girls, I just had to photograph them! Ayla has grown so much and it was my first time meeting little Adalyn. Photographing children in their natural environment of toys and family is absolutely the best way of capturing their personalities! Check out more images… (more…)

Photos: Edyta Szyszlo Photography

I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!! Jared’s sister, Lauren, came into town to share her recent birthday and the start to another summer with us here in Chicago. We had a great time with friends and roaming the city…but I have to say my favorite part was finally photographing her incredible knit purses! Lauren is an amazing artist that is on the path to starting her own Etsy shop, and I was so happy to help her out! I know she’s going to do great and people already respond so positively to her work! So here’s a sneak peek of some of her purses! (more…)

Photos: Edyta Szyszlo Photgraphy

Good morning everyone! It’s been a few days since I’ve been able to post…wonder why?! I’ve been honky tonkin in Nashville photographing a destination wedding! It was my first time in Nashville and even though I was only there for a few days, I got to experience the best parts with an incredible group of people. Things I learned: “buggies” are also known as shopping carts, everyone is extremely friendly, and “honky tonkin” is the act of hopping around from music venues and bars listening to the bands. I can’t wait to show you the wedding photography from Traci and Marty’s special day, it’s absolutely breathtaking!

Photos: Edyta Szyszlo Photography

Hope you had a good weekend! We had our first camping trip of the season this past weekend at the Indiana Sand Dunes State Park on Lake Michigan (about 1.5 hours southeast on a train – 45 min/1hour in a car). Amazing! We had some rough weather – tornado warning, thunderstorm and rain! But we did manage to get some sunshine here and there. I ended up bringing a point and shoot camera instead of my pro camera, thank goodness! It would have been drenched. Thanks to everyone for incredible time, always fun when we hang out. Self portrait at the dunes above….check out more photos! (more…)

Photos: Edyta Szyszlo Photography

Tuesday was the 3rd time that I’ve photographed the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra! And you thought I just photographed weddings huh? This time was super special because they played for an audience of children from the surrounding Chicago public schools at the South Shore Cultural Center. It was an interactive experience with the conductor asking questions and the kids responding, with a few pieces played in between. Reminded me of my 6 years of playing violin as a child :) It’s sad to hear about schools eliminating or cutting budgets for the arts in schools, I feel it’s incredibly important to involve kids in the arts and humanities. So I was honored to be a part of it. And let me tell you the youth involved in CYSO, sound amazing, extremely talented!! (more…)